BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental remains closed to domestic and foreign tourists, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said yesterday even as the Department of Tourism is pushing for the revival of the industry through domestic tourism.
“We cannot preempt the vaccines. Non-essential travel is still not allowed. The Bacolod-Silay Airport is still closed to tourists,” Diaz said.
Even travel within the province is not encouraged, he pointed out as he noted that the mayors are still worried that cases will spike, especially with the new coronavirus variant.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier instructed the Provincial Legal Office to take action against the three returning overseas Filipinos from United Kingdom, who arrived in Negros Occidental on Jan. 16 and claimed that they are locally stranded individuals.
While the provincial government managed to contain the spread of Covid-19, Diaz said this is no reason for Negrenses to let their guard down, even if vaccines are coming. “We cannot be careless,” he said. As of Saturday, Negros Occidental had 129 active cases, and San Enrique and Valladolid posted no new infections, the Provincial Incident Management Team said.*
